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Change is Originality

The three slogans of the Oceania Party, in George Orwell's, "1984" were:

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

To this could, be added, according to the Church of Scientology,

CHANGE IS ORIGINALITY

The Scientology Chairman of the Board of David Miscavige, has had reissued, revised editions of many of the basic books of Scientology primarily on the basis that original editions were badly transcribed and never did reflect the works of L. Ron Hubbard.

While it may be so that there were some transcription errors and even added insertions by some editors and grammatical errors in a few of the books that were based upon the work of, rather than written by Hubbard, the statement that the original works of Ron Hubbard have, for over fifty years contained unnoticed transcription errors, contains a number of outpoints.

In the DVD Miscavige emphasizes the transcription errors in the first part of the DVD and is quite emphatic about it. He then states and evaluates for the audience and, presumably anyone who has read any of the books, by saying that we all have a humongous misunderstood and have had since our first reading of the books.
He takes each book in some detail and, while there are some errors to be corrected, it is mainly about how, with the errors corrected and the great new format, the books are now easy to read and one can finish reading them faster.

A number of researchers for the Association of Professional Independent Scientologists Assoc (APIS) are currently undertaking critical comparisons of the basic books and these will be issued as they are completed. However, what has come to light so far with those currently done and almost completed is the evidence that this is not so much a correction of past errors but is in fact, a reissue of the works of Hubbard that changes the face of the technology and what it originally consisted of.

Some points worth mentioning include the fact that Hubbard proof read the transcripts of the books he issued. Considerable information is available to illustrate this and some information is available is contained in the Summary of Alterations* documentation prepared by one of the APIS researchers.

Secondly, it is difficult to believe that continual alterations of one form or another, even continuing well after Hubbard's demise and well into the Miscavige regime, did not pick up on the alleged original transcription errors over the past 40 or 50 odd years. Remarkable also is the fact that the current 'changes', for the books currently under review appear not to emphasis address transcription errors, but instead make major changes to the text in terms of omission or deletions of whole tracts as well as added inapplicable additions and duplications. Not, to any publishers mind, a way of resolving transcription errors. We of course only have DM's word for it that these are the correct changes. What about the prior changes, Were they correct also? It is difficult to reconcile a constant, "we are reverting to the true technology" over and over again. In addition Ron Hubbard is not here to issue new technology, so existing technology has to be revived as prior, "lost technology", when in fact it isn't.

However, the idea of compling some of the tapes with the books is a good idea. Very useful and an idea that can easily be done by anyone with a bit of work. This presentation has made that much easier.

But this is NOT lost technology as MD keeps emphasizing. The technology has always been there. Of course it MAY have been lost in the Church as some books still are. Dianetics Today, being a good example. MD claims the ACC lectures were "lost technology". Lost in the Church maybe but certainly not lost in the field. Muddying fact and PR statements together does not a "new original issue as LRH would like it" make!

Thirdly, This statement on transcription errors indicates a seriousness to warrant the entire reissue of the books rather than errata sheets? Does this mean that the technology, as contained in the basic books, has been incorrect for the past 50 or so years? If that were so, it would mean that the Church has been operating off incorrect technology for several decades if not from the inception when Ron Hubbard was very much on the lines. This would also mean that many of the completions could be incorrect. Much of the application would be incorrect. The success stories and progress up the bridge, including GAOT, based on the technology contained in books, takes, HCOBs and Policy letters, and touted as the last word in the correct technology, would also be incorrect.

In addition it would mean that disparities between the tapes lectures (many of which are also subject to alterations and omissions) would have gone unnoticed for several decades also.

It could even be construed from this, that the Church has been falsely promising what it delivered since inception. And that it has not been delivering what was originally promised. All the completions, including those made under the auspices of David Miscavige, could be considered false. A doubt condition. And I think it is a fair statement to say that the world holds the Church of Scientology in doubt.

This premise could probably be extended further but it is obvious that it is incorrect as evidence by the fact that thousands of people have applied scientology to their and others benefit and the technology, as originally given in the text books and works of Ron Hubbard, demonstrably works just as he described it. It is not Lost Technology. People have not been living with a gargantuan misunderstood for 50 years and people have been moving up the bridge.

So in view of the fact that the texts of scientology have undergone repeated changes, additions and omissions over the years, including under the regime of Miscavige, as been pointed out by APIS and others, it becomes obvious that this is an attempt, not so much to correct original errors, so much as an effort and an excuse to lift the revenue from book sales.

Things should be kept in proportion. This means newly formatted books are not the be all end all saviour of the technology. Actually applying the original technology as issued by LRH, welcoming people into the fold and not rejecting them, getting them up the bridge and not in ethics, getting people to train and not take 5 years to do one level staring at a wall, getting them to actually do the levels and not be sec checked to death and getting scientology booming is the way to expand scientology.

It remains to be seen exactly what the result will be, but it seems that, the actual use of the technology is, on a gradient, being slowly whittled away to non existence.

In Orwell's 1984, the Ministry of Truth, Oceania's propaganda arm, is there to control information, literature and propaganda. "The Records Department (RecDep) of Minitrue, "rectifying" historical records and newspaper articles to make them conform to Big Brother's most recent pronouncements, thus making everything that the Party says true."**

It seems that Miscavige is on a propaganda wave for the new Church of Scientology that has little to do with the Founder except for the use of his name and lip service to his philosophy.

This makes it even more vital that we spend some time preserving the technology, protecting it and promoting it widely.

We may be the only repository of the original technology in the future to come.

Michael
President
Association of Professional Independent Scientologists.